Guo DaLu’s mouth gaped so wide his chin almost fell off and said: “What......what did you say?”.

Yan Qi: “I said Ma Yi.”.

Guo DaLu: “Ma Yi?......”.

He suddenly laughed until he was bent over and panted for breath: “If you’re even afraid of an ant, you must be very couragous.”.

Yan Qi sighed and shook his head: “Looks like you’ve never mingled in the martial world, you unexpectedly don’t even know what ‘Ma Yi’ is.”.

Guo DaLu: “Since I was three, I’ve known what an ant was.”.

Yan Qi: “What is it?”.

Guo DaLu: “It is very, very tiny. An insect that crawls all over the ground. Wang Dong’s bed has quite a few, I can catch some for you to look at any time.”.

Yan Qi: “I’m not talking about that kind of Ma Yi, I’m talking about a person.”.

Guo DaLu paused: “A person? An ant is a person?”.

Yan Qi: “It’s four people. These four people are the Ant Lords, they also have many ‘ants’ under their command.”.

Guo DaLu: “Oh?”.

Yan Qi: “These four people, one is called Golden Ant, one is called Silver Ant, one is called Red Ant, one is called White Ant.”.

Guo DaLu couldn’t help laughing: “If theres already a red ant and a white ant, then there really needs to be a black ant.”.

Yan Qi: “There used to be one, but now he’s already dead.”.

Guo DaLu blinked his eyes and said: “Since they’re obviously men, why are they called Ants?”.

Yan Qi: “Many people have nicknames.”.

Guo DaLu: “Even if one adopts a nickname, he should choose a more prestigious name, such as “Winged Tiger” or “Golden-Maned Lion” or almost any other name will do, why pick a tiny ant?”.

Yan Qi: “Because they are very short, all of them are dwarves.”.

The more Guo DaLu listened, the more ridiculous it sounded, and he couldn’t help laughing again: “What’s so scary about dwarves?”.

Yan Qi: “Not only are these dwarves scary, they are extremely frightening, I’m afraid there are not many in this world who are more fearful than them.”.

Guo DaLu: “Oh? Could it be that their skills are very great?”.

Yan Qi: “Each of them has a very special kung fu, even E Mei Sect’s number one fighter died at their hands.”.

Guo DaLu: “Since they are this fearful, why do you still go bothering them?”.

Yan Qi sighed and said: “Because recently I’ve become poor, and ran afoul of some bad luck, in the past half month I’ve lost fifteen games, I had to sell the soles of my boots and take the money to pay off some of my gambling debts......”.

Guo DaLu cried out: “What? You said you sold the soles of your boots to repay gambling debts?”.

Yan Qi: “That’s right.”.

Guo DaLu: “How much do you owe?”.

Yan Qi: “Around seven or eight thousand liang.”.

Guo DaLu: “How much did you sell your boot soles for?”.

Yan Qi: “The two boot soles together got me 1300 liang.”.

The more he spoke, the less sense he made. Guo DaLu still wanted to listen to what more he had to say, so he stifled his laughter and said: “Then that still leaves 6700 liang.”.

Yan Qi: “It’s precisely because of this, that I needed to take advantage of others.”.

Guo DaLu: “Since you are a robber, why didn’t you go steal it?”.

Yan Qi: “Do you think a robber like myself would go steal from just anyone?”.

Guo DaLu: “You were still picky?”.

Yan Qi: “Not only picky, but selective to the extreme. If one is not a corrupt official, I would not steal from him. If one is not a shady merchant, I would also not steal from him. If one is not a robber, I also would not steal from him. I will not steal if the target is not right, or if the location is not right.”.

Guo DaLu: “So a robber like you would steal from other robbers?”.

Yan Qi: “That’s right, this is called black eating black.”.

Guo DaLu: “Therefore, you decided to go take advantage of those Ants.”.

Yan Qi: “That’s right, I happened to know they did some big transactions during those several days, so I went and asked to borrow 10000 liang.".

Guo DaLu: “Did they agree to this?”.

Yan Qi: “Agreed to, yes, but there was a condition.”.

Guo DaLu: “What kind of condition?”.

Yan Qi: “They wanted me to sleep in a coffin, and be buried underground for two days to see if I would eventually die or not.”.

Guo DaLu: “But you’ve done this sort of thing before.”.

Yan Qi: “Although I’ve done it before, it was still not something I’d enjoy tasting again.”.

Guo DaLu: “Therefore you did not agree.”.

Yan Qi: “I agreed, because any debt can be owed, but a gambling debt cannot be owed.”.

Guo DaLu: “You promised them but didn’t follow through, is that why they are chasing you?”.

Yan Qi: “That’s absolutely correct.”.

Guo DaLu: “What is your name?”.

Yan Qi: “Yan Qi.”.

Guo DaLu: “You have six brothers and sisters [*Qi means seven]?”.

Yan Qi: “No.”.

Guo DaLu: “Since you aren’t the seventh child, why are you called Yan Qi?”.

Yan Qi: “Because I have already died seven times.”.

Guo DaLu: “If you die one more time, then would you need to be called Yan Ba [*Ba means eight obviously]?”.

Yan Qi laughed: “Yan Qi is a good name, I don’t want to change it anymore.”.

Guo DaLu suddenly doubled over, laughing loudly, laughing so hard tears came out of his eyes, and pointed at Yan Qi saying: “You’re not a weirdo, you’re the King of B.S. in every sense of the term.”.

Yan Qi: “You don’t believe what I’m saying?”.

Guo DaLu: “Not a single word, even a three year old child wouldn't believe what you’re saying.”.

Yan Qi sighed: “I originally didn’t plan on speaking the truth, I’ve always known that it was much easier to make people believe lies than the truth.”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “If you were speaking the truth, I would crawl on the ground and......”.

Suddenly someone said: “Then crawl.”.

This voice was sharp and high pitched, although not loud it caused one’s earlobes to ring.

Guo DaLu lifted his head, and saw a person.

The person was standing on the window sill, but still wasn’t as tall as the window.

On his body was a set of glistening golden clothes, if his face didn’t have a beard and the corners of his eyes didn’t have wrinkles, anyone would think that he was a five or six year old child.

The laughter was very charming, no matter who you were you don’t get to hear such a nice sounding laugh very often. As soon as you hear this laughter, you’d imagine that the person laughing must be very attractive.

Red Ant was really very attractive.

A dwarf’s body wouldn’t normally be very symmetrical, but she was an exception.

She was wearing skin tight red clothes, the areas that should be slender were not thick, the areas that should be fat were not thin. She had a nice oval face, her eyebrows were like wispy distant mountains, her eyes like clear spring water, and her smile was sweet.

Guo DaLu couldn’t help looking at her.

That pair of spring water eyes were also staring at Guo DaLu and she laughed charmingly: “Those eyes of yours don’t look very honest.”.

Guo DaLu sighed: “I am originally not an honest person, from head to toe there isn’t an honest spot.”.

The laughter sounded like silver chimes, and in the midst of it something flew in from outside the window.”.

This thing wouldn't seem like a person in anyone’s eyes, lightly whirling around like a piece of fluffy cloud or a piece of white snowflake. Lightly floating about and then flying up and suddenly whooshing right by the top of Guo DaLu’s head.

Guo DaLu only sensed something cold near the top of his head, if he hadn’t evaded quickly, his head would probably have been the thing that was moved.

With another whooshing sound, that thing flew by again.

Of course this couldn’t be a person, a person wouldn’t have this kind of fearsome hing gung.

But it actually was a person, a person wearing snow white clothes, the sleeves were wide and long like a pair of wings, he was thin and short, no taller than three and a half feet, no wider than a foot, if you were to place him on a scale he wouldn’t be much heavier than a rabbit.

If one weren’t this type of person, how would one be able to learn this kind of hing gung?

Guo DaLu sighed again and muttered: “The White Ant actually is able to fly.”.

Yan Qi said: “White Ant’s hing gung is number one in the world, Red Ant’s entire body is filled with hidden weapons, Golden Ant can break fists and swords, Silver Ant cannot be penetrated by sabres or spears. I already said earlier, each of them has a very special kung fu, and now, you should finally believe me.”.

Yan Qi said: “This is another person’s house, if I must die I still can’t die here.”.

White Ant: “Then step outside.”.

Yan Qi brushed his clothes and smiled: “Fine, outside then......guys, if I don’t die this time I will be sure to come back and drink with you.”.

Wang Dong had been lying on his bed this entire time not moving at all, now he suddenly spoke: “Wait a moment.”.

Golden Ant: “Wait for what?”.

Wang Dong: “Do you realize what this place is?”.

Red Ant giggled: “I know, this is your pig sty.”.

Wang Dong: “If this is a pig sty, I am the pig king. No matter who comes here, they must listen to me.”.

Golden Ant angrily said: “What do you want?”.

Wang Dong: “I want Yan Qi to stay and drink with me, finding someone else who could drink upside down with me is not easy, how can I allow him to sleep in a coffin?”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “You want to move now?”.

Wang Dong: “These little ants bite, I have no choice but to move.”.

Guo DaLu: “How will you move?”.

Wang Dong: “Red Ant is mine, White Ant is all yours.”.

Wang Dong is motionless, but when he does move it is amazing.

Before his sentence was finished, his entire person had suddenly shot up from the bed and threw himself into the fray.

Not only did he throw himself, his blanket followed him as well.

He targeted Red Ant.

Red Ant couldn’t even see him, she only saw a black cotton blanket curling towards her.

With a twist of her body, three or four different kinds of hidden weapons flew out, some were fast and quick, others were spinning and turning.

Because she was a small person, her hidden weapons were especially small.

Because her hidden weapons were especially small, it was especially effective at cutting through the air making it especially difficult for others to evade.

But she forgot one thing, a cotton blanket was not a person.

A cotton blanket cannot die.

Although her hidden weapons were ingenious, her techniques exquisite, it was not of any use at all.

One heard consecutive sounds of “PU, PU, PU” as 30 or 40 hidden weapons all struck the blanket, a blanket that was covered with pork grease, duck grease, chicken grease, and sesame oil.

It was like the blanket was simply soaked in grease, soaked to the point where it was slippery and resiliant, even a bow or a crossbow may not be able to shoot through it, much less these tiny hidden weapons.

By the time Red Ant realized she was tricked, she started to retreat but the blanket had already approached like a cloud of ravens.

Wang Dong is motionless, but when he does move nobody could imagine it would be this fast.

Red Ant suddenly got a whiff of some peculiar oily odor, and then her entire body was wrapped up by the blanket.

If she was a little taller, Wang Dong might not have been able to wrap her up in the blanket. But she was really tiny, Wang Dong reached around with his two hands and just like a dumpling, she was wrapped up in the middle of the bundle.

Before Wang Dong was finished, he heard the sound of the wind moving behind him, White Ant was already flying over. Even if Wang Dong moved any faster, he would still not be as fast as this flying White Ant.

In the blink of an eye, White Ant had caught up to him.

But Wang Dong wanted White Ant to catch up to him, because he knew that he wouldn’t have been able to catch up to White Ant.

As soon as White Ant reached him, he suddenly stopped, turned, and swung the blanket around.

Within the blanket was his own wife, White Ant naturally had no choice but to catch it.

This blanket was bigger than he was, and twice as heavy, as soon as he reached out and caught it, he immediately fell down. Wang Dong arrived behind him and easily sealed his acupoints.

The muscles on White Ant’s little face was twisted in anger, he stared hard at Wang Dong, eyes looking like they were going to bulge out.

Wang Dong was motionless again, and lazily smiled: “You’re not satisfied with this defeat, are you? Because I didn’t use real kung fu. I tell you this, if I used real kung fu it wouldn’t be considered as skillful. I never use real kung fu when I fight.

White Ant was so mad he simply had to spit blood.

Wang Dong really appeared as if he didn’t know any real kung fu, everything seemed to be the result of cleverness and opportunity.

But if one didn’t have first-class kung fu, how can one have that kind of opportunity? How can the timing be so precise? How can the actions be so steady?

Not only must the hands and feet contain real kung fu, the brain must also contain real kung fu.

Wang Dong was motionless, but when he does it’s the real deal.

Looking back at Golden Ant, Guo DaLu’s fist wind had already forced him into a state where he could hardly breathe.

Yan Qi was fighting with Silver Ant.

Although Silver Ant was slightly larger than the rest and practiced hard kung-fu, once his kung fu gets hard, his hands and feet gets slower.

The faster Yan Qi moved around him, the slower he became.

Suddenly, Yan Qi took off his hat and slammed it onto Silver Ant’s head. The hat was big, the head was small, with his entire head covered up he wasn’t able to see anything.

Yan Qi reached out with his leg and tripped him. There was a loud “HUA LA LA” sound. It seems like Silver Ant was wearing silver armor, once he fell down it was not easy for him to crawl back up.

He wanted to rip off the hat on his head, but he was pressed down by something very heavy. Apparently Yan Qi had planted his butt and sat down on him. Yan Qi laughed happily: “This bench is not bad, too bad it’s a little small.”.

And what about Golden Ant? He was already having a hard time breathing, and now that he became more anxious he grabbed his stomach, and without any action on Guo DaLu’s part, he fainted, white froth spilling from the corners of his mouth.

Guo DaLu sighed: “Seems like this person had some kind of rabid sickness, looks like I went after the wrong person.”.

Wang Dong said: “I actually said that White Ant was all yours, didn’t you hear?”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “You say your thing, I go after my thing, I wasn’t able to catch up to White Ant and he was also set on chasing you, so I took on this Golden Ant. No matter what, my physique was bigger than his so of course my strength and stamina wouldn’t be any less than his. Based on that, I was sure to eat him up.”.

Wang Dong also sighed and muttered: “I wouldn’t have imagined that someone like you would go for the easy pickings.”.

Guo DaLu: “I also wouldn’t have imagined that your blanket could be so useful, in the future if someone wants to learn how to defend against hidden weapons, I would definitely recommend they start eating greasy chicken in bed.”.

Wang Dong: “Greasy chicken is not enough, you need to eat roast duck as well.”.

Yan Qi suddenly sighed and said: “What I wouldn’t have imagined, is encountered two people like yourselves, perhaps my bad luck has left as well.”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “This is only because you really are a weirdo, and not the King of B.S.”.

Yan Qi: “The reason you were willing to help me, was because I was being honest?”.

Guo DaLu: “And also because you could drink wine upside down.”.

Yan Qi also laughed: “If I hadn’t seen you drinking upside down, why would I even say anything like that?”.

He suddenly sighed again and said: “Actually I still have a few words to say, but don’t know if I should say them or not.”.

Wang Dong: “Did you want to thank me?”.

Yan Qi sighed: “For something like this, I really don’t know how I should thank you.”.

Wang Dong: “If you really wish to thank me, there is something you can still do.”.

Yan Qi: “What is it?”.

Wang Dong: “Lift me back to my bed, I’m too lazy to move again.”.

-----
Nobody in whose eyes it was, Wealthy Manor would not be regarded as an interesting place. There simply wasn’t a single thing that would cause someone to want to stick around.

It wasn’t because they didn’t have anywhere else to go, it was because......

Because of what? Even they weren’t quite sure.

Some people are strangely drawn to each other, like iron to a magnet, once they meet they will be captivated by each other.

As long as these people are together, they will feel very happy. It didn’t matter if they had to sleep on the ground, or go hungry for a time, it wouldn’t even matter to them if the sky fell down.

There were very few things in this world that they could not endure, one of those things were tears.

A woman’s tears, especially the tears of a little woman less than four feet tall.

Although Red Ant was small, but her tears were really not small.

Guo DaLu suddenly discovered that the amount of a woman’s tears, was not related to the size of her body at all. Instead, the smaller the woman the more tears there seemed to be.

There were many things with women that were like this.

The fatter the person, the less she ate. The uglier the person, the more makeup she puts on. The older the person, the more powder she puts on. The more clothes a person has, the less she wears.

“Alas, women really are a strange breed.”.

Guo DaLu sighed. Red Ant continued to cry non-stop and it reached a point where he couldn’t take it anymore.

So he had to leave.

Yan Qi didn’t want him to leave.

Wang Dong had already laid down and fallen asleep, once he falls asleep it wouldn’t even matter to him if someone died.

Yan Qi stopped Guo DaLu and said: “If you leave, what will I do with the four people we captured?”.

Guo DaLu: “This was originally your problem, not mine.”.

Yan Qi: “But if you guys hadn’t helped me, how could I have captured them? And if I hadn’t captured them, how would I have this problem?”.

Guo DaLu paused.

Yan Qi was still afraid he hadn’t explained it clearly enough, and continued: “If you guys hadn’t helped me, I would have been captured by them. At most I would have just died one more time, and then wouldn’t have any more problems. But now, I can’t kill them, I can’t let them go, how shall I manage?”.

The more he explained, the more confused Guo DaLu became.

Wang Dong suddenly poked his head out from under the blanket and smiled: “I have a good plan.”.

Yan Qi relaxed his breath and said: “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”.

Wang Dong: “Since you don’t want to kill them, and you don’t want to let them go, how about having them remain here and raising them for the rest of their lives.”.

Guo DaLu immediately clapped his hand and laughed: “That’s right, a truly excellent idea. Besides, they are so small they definitely wouldn’t need to eat very much.”.

Red Ant also immediately stopped crying and said: “Every day if I only get to eat two small bowls of tapioca rice, with a little bit of seafood, and some honeyed peaches, that should be enough for me: If there aren’t any honeyed peaches, melons will do.”.

Yan Qi didn’t have any expression, he just stood there and mumbled: “Tapioca rice? Seafood? Honeyed peaches?......This is also not difficult.”.

He suddenly turned around, dropped his head and started to walk out.

Guo DaLu: “Where are you going?”.

Yan Qi: “To find that coffin and lie down in it, and also find someone to bury it, at least it’ll still be much easier than looking for tapioca and honeyed peaches every day.”.

Guo DaLu sighed and said: “Seeing as how things are, in order to rescue you, it would be best to let them go, at least it’ll also be much easier than looking for someone else who can drink wine upside down.”.

As his lips were talking, his hands were untying the Ants’ acupoints.

They were fast in coming, and also not slow in leaving.

The three watched them leave, and then suddenly turned and looked at each other.

Guo DaLu: “You were already planning on let them go, weren’t you?”.

Yan Qi: “Oh?”.

Guo DaLu: “But you didn’t feel comfortable coming right out and saying it, because we also had a part in it, you were worried that we might not be satisfied if you just let them go, but in fact......”.

Yan Qi: “But in fact you also wanted to let them go, right?”.

The three of them looked at each other and suddenly they all erupted in laughter together.

Guo DaLu smiled: “It seems like not only is letting people go easier than killing them, it is also much more pleasant.”.

Yan Qi: “That’s absolutely right, if we killed them we wouldn’t be this happy right now.”.

Wang Dong: “But after we let them go, if they go and harm others, then that would not be so pleasant.”.

Guo DaLu shook his head, and loudly interrupted: “Definitely not, I don’t feel that they are entirely evil, even if they didn’t do very good things in the past, I think they will change for the better in the future.”.

He suddenly winked and lowered his voice: “Even if they were really bad, after listening to this speech of mine, they would feel too ashamed to do any more evil deeds.”.

Yan Qi said: “Do you think they heard you?”.

Wang Dong: “Of course they heard him, even a deaf person ten li away could hear this voice of his.”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “That’s right, my voice has always been decent. In the past, there were even many people who said I was born with a golden throat, wait until I’m in the mood and I’ll sing a few songs for you guys to listen to.”.

Wang Dong sighed: “If you must sing, at least wait until I’m asleep before starting.”.

He covered his head with his blanket again and said: “As long as I’m asleep, even if you step on a chicken’s neck I still wouldn’t wake up.”.

They were all this kind of people, the way they handled things were very unique.

They did things very correctly, and sometimes they would do things wrong.

But, no matter what, the things they did would never involve bloodshed nor make others feel disgusted.

The things they did would not only make themselves happy, they would also make others happy.

Thks

Hiya gys,
Thx TigerWong for a HUGE update.
-
Very whimsical characters. Everything goes. Tried to make sense out of this story, but decided to just enjoy it. WangDong's laziness is contagious.
-
Observations:
1. Ant Team - Reminds me of Powerpuff Girls, Beanie babies, and Balder'sGate[RPG] -- Boo the flying hamster... ["go for the eyes Boo! go for the eyes!]
2. Are they staying at that Mansion like AshesOfTime gys? Or DragonTigerInn?
-
-
Most Impressionable Lines:

But if one didn’t have first-class kung fu, how can one have that kind of opportunity? How can the timing be so precise? How can the actions be so steady?
Not only must the hands and feet contain real kung fu, the brain must also contain real kung fu.
Wang Dong was motionless, but when he does it’s the real deal.
-
Wang Dong: “If you really wish to thank me, there is something you can still do.”.
Yan Qi: “What is it?”.
Wang Dong: “Lift me back to my bed, I’m too lazy to move again.”.

-----
Each month, Yan Qi slips out by himself two or three times. Nobody knew where he went, nor what he went to do.

Each time he returned, he would always bring a few strange things back.

The things he brought back could be a pair of new socks, or an embroidered handkerchief, or it could be some roast pork, or some rice wine.

Sometimes he would bring back a cat, or a canary, or a couple of live fish.

But no matter what, they were not as strange as what he brought back this time.

This time he unexpectedly brought back a person.

A live person.

This person was called Lin TaiPing, but after he came, not a single person’s day went by peacefully. [*TaiPing means peaceful.]

-----
Some people like Winter, because during Winter you can enjoy snow, you can enjoy plums, you can eat hot roasted meals in pots, you can snuggle under a warm blanket and read a forbidden book, and you can get a good sleep.

These few simple pleasures are all things you don’t get to experience during the other seasons.

Of course the people who enjoy Winter cannot be poor, Wintertime is the most fearful time for poor people, all poor people hope that Winter will be delayed, or better yet not come at all.

The snow in Wealthy Manor’s courtyard is just as white as anywhere else, there were even some plum blossoms in the trees. But if a person was still wearing his flimsy Spring clothes, and if his belly was still filled with yesterday’s noodles, the only thing he would be in the mood for was to swallow something to stuff his stomach with, not white snow or plum blossoms.

Guo DaLu looked at the white snow and plum blossoms in the courtyard, and mumbled: “If those plum blossoms were hot peppers, then that would be nice.”.

Wang Dong: “What’s so nice about that?”.

Guo DaLu: “Look, the snow covering the ground looks like flour, coupled with a few red peppers, and you’d have a nice bowl of spicy hot noodle soup.”.

Wang Dong sighed: “You are really uncultured, if Lin Bu heard what you said he’d die from irritation.”.

Wang Dong: “Lin Bu was Lin JunFu and was also known as Lin HuoJing. He was a hermit during the Song Dynasty who lived in the mountains of West Lake. It was said that he didn’t leave the mountain for twenty years and the only things he did were plant plum blossoms and raise cranes, his nickname was ‘Plum-Consort Crane-Child’; A few of his stanzas regarding plums like ‘the wispy shadow hangs across the clear shallow waters, it’s hidden fragrance drifts across the yellow moon at twilight’ have been recited throughout the ages.”.

Guo DaLu said thoughtfully: “From what you’ve said, this Mr. Lin must be a very venerable person.”.

Wang Dong: “Very venerable indeed.”.

Guo DaLu: “But if his stomach was as hungry as mine, would he still be this wise?”.

Wang Dong thought for a moment and suddenly laughed: “If he was in the same condition as you are now, he probably would be more vulgar and uncultured than you.”.

Guo DaLu also laughed.

He suddenly realized that no matter how cold or hungry a person was, a laugh can make one feel much more comfortable.

At this moment, Wang Dong suddenly jumped up from his bed and said loudly: “Speaking of Lin Bu, I just thought of something.”.

If something can cause Wang Dong to jump up from his bed, it cannot be a small matter.

Guo DaLu couldn’t help asking: “What did you think of? Do you also want to take a plum blossom as your wife?”.

Wang Dong: “This plum blossom of mine is even better than a wife, it’s the wine......”.

Guo DaLu forced a laugh: “Regarding a plum blossom as your wife is crazy enough, I can’t believe this guy is even crazier.”.

But there actually was wine buried underneath the plum tree.

Wang Dong said: “This was something I buried more than ten years ago, that year I heard Lin HuoJing’s story and became fond of plum blossoms, so I buried some wine underneath the plum tree to enhance the fragrance of the plum blossoms.”.

No matter where you buried a case of wine, if it had been buried for more than ten years then it would definitely be very fragrant.

Wang Dong smiled: “You should feel grateful to Mr.Lin right now, if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have buried this wine; And if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t have just thought of this wine.”.

Guo DaLu no longer had the energy to speak, when theres wine to drink his lips won’t do anything else.

Wang Dong still stopped him: “Wait a moment.”.

Guo DaLu: “Wait for what?”.

Wang Dong: “Yan Qi had already been gone for two days, he should be returning any moment now, we should at least wait for him.”.

Guo DaLu: “Wait for how much longer? By the time he returns we could be frozen to death.”.

He didn’t have to wait long.

Yan Qi’s voice came from outside the wall: “It’s best that you guys freeze to death, that way I can enjoy this wine all by myself.”.

Wang Dong laughed: “Not only is this person’s earlobes long, his nose is long. I already knew that once he smelled the wine’s fragrance he’d be able to follow it back.”.

Guo DaLu also laughed: “I wonder what Long Nose brought back this time for us to go with our wine.”.

Yan Qi: “I didn’t bring back anything to go with the wine this time, I only brought back something that would drink the wine.”.

Lin TaiPing was definitely someone who could drink wine. When people first see him, they would never believe that he could drink that much wine.

Guo DaLu especially didn’t believe this when he first laid eyes on him.

Lin TaiPing was a very elegant, fragile looking, handsome person. If one can say that Yan Qi looked a bit girlish, then this person was like a girl wearing makeup.

His lips were very small, even if you used the term ‘little cherry lips’ to describe him it wouldn’t be out of place.

The first time Guo DaLu saw him, his mouth was shut tight, his lips were turning green, it took a lot of effort before they were able to pry his jaws open and pour down some wine.

He was already half frozen to death, starved to his last breath.

Guo DaLu couldn’t imagine that there would be someone else in this world who was colder and hungrier than him, he forced a smile and said: “Where did you get this person from?”.

Yan Qi: “On the road.”.

Guo DaLu sighed: “The first time you brought back a cat from the road, the second time you brought back a dog, this time you unexpectedly picked up a person. At this rate, how could you not bring back a large gorilla next time?”.

Wang Dong laughed: “Best if it were a female gorilla, that would make a good match for you.”.

Guo DaLu was not mad, and grinned: “It would be bad if it was a baby monkey, I’d have to call her Mrs.Wang.”.

His stature was very large, taller than Wang Dong by at least a head. His size was the thing he was most proud of, if someone poked fun at it, not only would he not get angry, he thought it was pretty cute.

He had always thought that this was befitting of a true man.

Yan Qi found a broken bowl, filled it halfway with wine, pulled open Lin TaiPing’s lips and poured it down.

After drinking two bowls, his pale face gradually acquired some color, but his eyes were still shut. He slowly swallowed the remaining half mouthful of wine and said some words: “This is thirty year old Zhu Xie Qing. [*A nice brand of wine.]”.

These were the first words Lin TaiPing said.

Wang Dong laughed, Guo DaLu also laughed, just based on these words they now regarded Lin TaiPing as a friend.

TigerWong: I know you said it's along way of this book to finish, could you tell me how many chapter of this book?

Is there any adapatation of this book has been made?

This Happy Hero and Sword Exquisiteness, I find Gu Long works has a lot of retorical question. Also the main character is kinda... eccentric in their own way. But I only know 2 of his work.. oh.. the Dagger Lee also his work but I haven't have chance to read it.. or watch it.

Lin TaiPing thought a bit again and said: “These words do make sense.”.

He raised his head again, and drank down the remaining half container of wine.

If a container of wine had been buried away for more than ten years, the wine would be very concentrated, although there was only half a container left over it was more potent than two containers of regular wine.

But Lin TaiPing’s face actually hadn’t changed colors, and he said: “Do you still have more of this type of wine?”.

Guo DaLu could only force a smile: “Regrettably, not only was this wine today’s meal for the three of us, it is also all we have that’s worthwhile.”.

Wang Dong: “His life was rescued by you and brought back here, then he drank up our entire food supply and took over the only bed in this house. But not only did he not utter a word of gratitude, but seemed to think he showed us a lot of face by allowing us to become his friends.”.

He laughed and continued: “Where would you be able to find a second person like this?”.

Therefore Lin TaiPing also remained behind.

Therefore if people mentioned the words “Wealthy Manor” in the martial world, they would not merely be referring to a place near a cemetery.

As soon as you mention Wealthy Manor, people in the martial world will understand that you’re talking about a very mysterious group -- an empty house and four men, the things that happened to them, their happy and lovely story, as well as the marvelous and tremendous friendship between the four of them.

-----
There existed an odd mutual understanding between these friends, that is, they would never ask each other about their past affairs, nor would they speak of their own past to each other.

Lin TaiPing was still snoring in his sleep, and Wang Dong naturally didn’t want to show that he was submissive, so Guo DaLu could only drag Yan Qi out with him to go “hunting” near the base of the mountain.

Hunting meant going out to see if there were any opportunities to make money.

There weren’t.

When snow melts, it was even colder than when snow was falling. After being full from eating, one would go to bed. That was the smartest strategy to defeat the cold. Therefore you wouldn’t even see a person’s shadow out on the streets.

Guo DaLu and Yan Qi appeared to be two lonely souls, step by step walking across the muddy ground. Guo DaLu was looking at Yan Qi’s boots the entire time.

In the end, he couldn’t help but ask: “Have you replaced the soles in your boots?”.

Yan Qi: “Mm Hmm.”.

Guo DaLu: “I’ve never asked you how the soles of your boots could be worth more than a thousand liangs, right?”.

Yan Qi: “Right.”.

Guo DaLu: “I’ve also never asked how you died seven times, right?”.

Yan Qi: “You have never asked.”.

Guo DaLu’s eyes filled with hope and said: “What if I ask? Would you be willing to respond?”.

Yan Qi: “Maybe......but I know you would never ask, because I have never asked you about anything.”.

Thks

Hiya gys,
Thx TigerWong for another update. Starting to getting more interesting again.
-
I thought 3 heroes becuz 3 prologues.
-
-
Observations:
1. Lin TaiPeng - similar to Zu Qianqiu [the gy who showed to Linghu Chong with wine goes with which cup] of SmilingProudWanderer.
--- Until WangDong explained his uniqueness which I found to be pretty funny, it was hard to like a thief of dirt poor heroes. --- EDITTED: I mean, TaiPeng is kinda low becuz he steals the poor [our heroes here]
-
Memorable Lines: [WangDong again - lazy response and infectiousness] ----- EDITTED: I mean, interesting lines [not memorable. ]

He stretched, looked around, and said: “Do you guys usually sleep on this bed?”.
Wang Dong: “Mm Hmm.”.
Lin TaiPing creased his brows: “People actually sleep on this bed?”.
-
[not that memorable, but interesting it parallels the first. ]
In the end, he couldn’t help but ask: “Have you replaced the soles in your boots?”.
Yan Qi: “Mm Hmm.”.

Yan Qi laughed: “Of course we wouldn’t ask him, but it should be ok to guess amongst ourselves.”.

Yan Qi continued: “Something happened that made him leave his family, his clothes are very sparse, that implies that he came from a warm area. He doesn’t have anything on him, which shows that he left in a hurry. He might even have fled.”.

Guo DaLu: “I wouldn’t have guessed you were so thorough.”.

Yan Qi laughed: “If someone were to endure this kind of cold and hunger, one wouldn’t survive very long.”.

Guo DaLu sighed: “At most, maybe two or three days.”.

Yan Qi: “If you could only last three days, then he could only last a day and a half at most.”.

Guo DaLu smiled: “That’s right, I’m already used to it, whereas he’s just a high and mighty young master.”.

Yan Qi: “In this type of weather, after a day and a half, no one would be able to travel far.”.

Guo DaLu: “Do you mean to say that his home is nearby and not far?”.

Yan Qi: “Mm Hmm.”.

Guo DaLu: “Which prominent families live nearby?”.

Yan Qi: “Not too many, there are even less that are prominent within the martial world.”.

Guo DaLu: “Why does it have to be a prominent family of the martial world? Can that scholarly cultured person actually know martial arts?”.

Yan Qi: “Not only does he know martial arts, but it is also not weak.”.

Guo DaLu: “How can you tell?”.

Yan Qi: “I can tell.”.

Before waiting for Guo DaLu to ask again, he continued: “As far as I know, there are only two prominent martial families nearby.”.

Guo DaLu: “Which family is named Lin?”.

Yan Qi: “Both of them are not named Lin, Lin TaiPing is not necessarily surnamed Lin, if he really fled from something, why would he tell anybody his real name?”.

Guo DaLu: “Which two families do you know of?”.

Yan Qi: “One family is surnamed Xiong, their patriarch is “Students Populate The World” Xiong ChuRen, a leader of a prominent martial arts hall, although his students can be found all over the world, he is a solitary man who not only has no children but also has no wife.”.

Guo DaLu: “And the other family?”.

Yan Qi: “The other family is surnamed Mei, although that one has a son and a daughter, their son “The Stone Man” Mei RuJia has been famous in martial society for a long time, his age should be much greater than Lin TaiPing’s.”.

Guo DaLu: “Why is he called the Stone Man?”.

Yan Qi: “It is said that this family’s martial arts was very strange, all their weapons and hidden weapons were made from stone, therefore his father was called ‘The Stone God’ and he was called ‘The Stone Man’”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “Then what will his future son be called? Will he be ‘The Stone Dog’?”.

This was a very peaceful mountain village, it’s streets were very narrow, and some were even a bit slanted.

The adjacent buildings’ construction was very average. Although the first nightwatch hasn’t been sounded yet, most of the lanterns were already extinguished, and most of the vendors had gone home, even if there were some lights seeping through windows and doors, they were very dim. Very few people would light two lamps in a room, even fewer would light candles because lamp oil was cheaper than candles.

Guo DaLu sighed: “This really is a poor place, people who stay here too long will not only become poorer and poorer, they’d also get lazier and lazier.”.

Yan Qi: “You’re wrong, I like this place very much.”.

Guo DaLu: “Oh?”.

Yan Qi: “No matter where I’m at, I would feel very anxious, it is only here that I would feel at peace and carefree.”.

Guo DaLu: “Because the people who live here are so poor they can’t even take care of themselves, so they don’t have the energy to meddle in other people’s business.”.

Yan Qi: “You’re wrong again, this place is not poor at all.”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “Of course not when compared to us, but......”.

Yan Qi interrupted him: “The reason you see these people as being poor, is because they don’t want to show off. For example, that one store owner Wang Dong knows, not only is he not poor, but he must be a very prominent person.”.

Guo DaLu: “What sort of prominence?”.

Yan Qi: “As far as I can tell, if this person wasn’t once a great bandit, then he must have been a famous celebrity of the martial world. I don’t know if it was to hide from his enemies or from misfortune, or if he was just tired of martial society that made him come here.”.

He continued: “There are many people like him around here, if I retire in the future I will definitely stop by this place.”.

Guo DaLu: “Based on what you said, how could this not be a region of crouching tigers and hidden dragons?”.

Yan Qi: “That is absolutely correct.”.

Guo DaLu: “How wasn’t I able to see this?”.

Yan Qi: “If someone were to die seven times, he would have experienced more than most others.”.

Guo DaLu: “But you still haven’t figured out Lin TaiPing’s origin, since he couldn’t be the Mei family’s son nor the Xiong family’s descendant, after talking for half the day, you’ve just ended up wasting your breath.”.

Yan Qi was silent for a long time, then suddenly said: “Have you ever heard the name of ‘The Terrestrial Dragon King’?”

Guo DaLu laughed: “Only a deaf person would never have heard of this name, although I may be uninformed, I’m at least not deaf.”.

Yan Qi: “It is rumored that the Terrestrial Dragon King has a villa nearby.”.

Guo DaLu: “Do you suspect that Lin TaiPing is his son?”.

Yan Qi: “Theres a possibility.”.

Guo DaLu: “That’s not possible, definitely impossible.”.

Yan Qi: “Why?”.

Guo DaLu: “In the martial world, everyone knows that the Terrestrial Dragon King is a bold and domineering seven foot tall person, how could he have such a prissy, girly son.”.

Yan Qi said coldly: “Whether or not somebody can be considered a man, it should not be dictated by his outer appearance.”.

Guo DaLu looked at him and smiled: “Of course not, but......”.

He abruptly shut his lips, his entire person appeared dumbfounded.

Originally there was nobody out on the streets, now a person was gracefully walking over.

Thks

Hiya gys,
Thx TigerWong for another HUGE translation.
-
Very abstract talk [talking about LinTaiPing and Personages around the region] and kinda bleak town, must be the trough of action here.
Meaning, the next translation sure will get interesting. Must be the surprise look of Guo DaLu at the end.

Yan Qi looked him up and down a few times, and replied: “Not bad, a bit tall, large eyes, a warm smile.”.

Guo DaLu: “If you were a young woman, would you be attracted to me?”.

Yan Qi smiled: “Perhaps......”.

He suddenly realized that his smile not only looked very charming, but it looked a bit like a young woman’s, and he couldn’t help but laugh: “But if you were a young woman, I’m afraid no man in this world would be able to handle it.”.

Yan Qi’s expression soured: “I’m afraid there are not many women who can stand you either.”.

Guo DaLu: “Why? Didn’t you just say that I was good looking?”.

Yan Qi: “But you are also dirty, lazy, unreliable, women definitely don’t like these types of men.”.

Guo DaLu laughed: “That’s because you’re not a woman, a real woman would like a man like myself, this is how real men are.”.

Yan Qi looked like he was about to hurl, and grimaced: “Did you think that young woman was attracted to you?”.

Guo DaLu: “Of course, otherwise why else would she giggle at me?”.

Yan Qi abruptly laughed: “A girl’s laughter has many kinds, they will laugh when they see someone simpleminded or ugly too.”.

He shut his mouth again, because that young woman came around the corner and started approaching again.

The baskets in her hands used to be empty, but now they were filled with things, therefore she was struggling with them, the ground was also muddy, her foot suddenly slipped, her entire person fell forward and the baskets flew out of her hands.

Luckily she encountered Guo DaLu and Yan Qi.

Yan Qi’s reflexes has always been very fast, Guo DaLu’s reflexes were also not slow, as soon as her foot slipped, they were like arrows being shot out.

Before the baskets dropped to the ground, Yan Qi had already reached out and caught them; Before the young woman fell down, Guo DaLu had already reached out and steadied her.”.

She panted for breath a little, and then regained her composure. She suddenly discovered that a strange man was supporting her, and her face immediately became bright red.

Guo DaLu’s heart also jumped, and said: “Is the young lady ok?”.

The young woman’s face was red and she lowered her head: “I......really don’t know how to thank both of you.”.

Yan Qi had already discovered that everything in the baskets were edible, there was smoked chicken, there was beef, there were even some biscuits that were toasted golden on both sides.

He really wanted to say: “If you want to thank us that would be very easy, just give us a chicken and two biscuits.”.

But seeing Guo DaLu’s look of affection at this person, how could he make his friend look bad.

The young woman suddenly lifted her head, looked at him, smiled and said: “You guys are really good people.”.

Although she was saying “you guys”, her eyes were only looking at Guo DaLu. Guo DaLu’s heart was melting, his person was feeling light, and he stuttered: “Young lady, you......you......you don’t have......have to be po......polite.”.

The young woman retrieved her baskets and abruptly turned around and gave a charming smile, before lowering her head and heading away.

If Guo DaLu’s soul was still around, this one smile probably caused it to fly high away.

Although his person seemed to be nailed to that spot, his soul looked like it was being carried away in the basket by that person.

Yan Qi said: “This is such a good opportunity, why aren’t you chasing after her?”.

Guo DaLu sighed: “Do you think I am really a pervert?”.

Yan Qi said softly: “Even if you weren’t, you’re not very far off.”.

The young woman had already walked very far, but now she suddenly stopped, turned her head and smiled: “I bought a lot of food, would the two of you be willing to honor me by accompanying me in a few drinks.”.

This kind of request came from a beautiful woman’s lips, and arrived in the ears of two very cold and hungry men. It must have sounded ten times better than the world’s best sounding music.

If someone refused this invitation, it’d be a wonder if they weren’t stupid.

Yan Qi wasn’t stupid, and neither was Guo DaLu.

Although his lips were still saying: “How could this not be a bother for you?” his pair of legs were already walking quickly over to her.

Alas, why do heroes always find it hard to overcome a beautiful woman.

Why didn’t Guo DaLu just ask this young woman where she was taking them?

It looks like even if she brought them somewhere to be sold off, Guo DaLu would still follow.